1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to insulated terminals and in particular to a method of producing a terminal having a uniform coating of insulation thereon.
2. The Prior Art
There are instances in the field of electrical connectors when it is desirable to have the terminals themselves coated with insulation. Examples of such insulated terminals may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,027,536; 3,145,261; and 4,169,646. In each of these instances the terminal is blanked from a die and has a number of sharp substantially 90.degree. corners between each surface and edge of the terminal. As the tooling producing the terminals becomes worn or misaligned there can also be burrs formed on the edges of the terminal as well as other irregularities. In most normal terminal functions these conditions and sharp edges present no serious problems.
When one attempts to coat terminals of the above type, problems do arise since the rough edges, burrs, and sharp corners cause obstacles to providing a uniform coating of insulation. In fact, extremely erratic results can be produced by these non-uniform edges. Most terminals thus coated will have gaps or insufficient insulation thickness which can result in shorting of the terminal instead of the desired insulating effect. It was discovered that varying the material for the insulating coating, the thickness of the coating, and even the manner in which the coating is applied had little effect on improving the overall coating since the exposed edges, burrs, and the like still penetrated the coating layer.